


A New Kind of Flying

by schmulte



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Oneshot, Post Hidden World, chief hiccup, fluff ending, preggstrid, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 17:31:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18674251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schmulte/pseuds/schmulte
Summary: Hiccup's been having nightmares since the dragons left, and it prompts him to make a decision that angers Astrid and leads her to reveal a secret.





	A New Kind of Flying

The nightmares started a week after the dragons left. They weren't the kind that Hiccup had experienced after he lost his father, the kind where the young Chief would find himself with wet cheeks in the morning and stinging eyes. Toothless was always there to comfort him, curling around the boy and protecting him with his wings. This time, the nightmares woke him up with a burning throat and erratic breathing, cold sweat covering shaking limbs. It was always Grimmel, smirking at the Chief as he captured Toothless, the dragon looking to his friend for help with those wide green eyes. It always tore a scream from Hiccup's throat as he woke, calling out to his long-gone friend. It was hard to go back to sleep after those dreams. He would lie in bed awake for hours and long to feel the weight of Toothless's head on his chest and hear the concerned warble from his throat. But there was no dragon to comfort him now. 

Hiccup had slept a little better after he and Astrid had married, after they moved into their home together. He would sleep in bliss with his arms wrapped around her torso and his face pressed to golden hair. But this peace didn't last, and the nightmares started again some months after the wedding. The Chief found himself thankful that his wife was a heavy sleeper. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about his problems with her. They were married, he was supposed to share these things with her. He just didn't want to worry Astrid. The Chief and Chieftess had enough on their plates to begin with. This was something Hiccup could handle by himself. 

Astrid awoke one night after a particularly bad nightmare, rolling over to glance blearily at her husband, who was now sat upright in bed. 

"Hiccup...?" she rasped out. "What are you doing up?" 

The Chief composed himself and put on a strained smile for his wife. His eyes were bloodshot and a thin sheen of sweat covered his brow. Astrid saw right through the facade and pushed herself up to sit, placing a hand on her husband'd chest. 

"Talk to me." 

Hiccup sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. A nervous habit that gave away he was definitely hiding something. 

"I'm fine, Astrid. Just a nightmare." 

"Your dad?" 

He shook his head and worried his bottom lip. 

"Grimmel. And Toothless." 

Astrid nodded and moved her hands to twist a braid into his hair. 

"How long have you been keeping this from me?" 

"...a while." he managed to get out. He could never lie to Astrid, no matter how much trouble the truth would have gotten him into. His wife simply hummed as she braided. She knew he would talk when he was ready, and she wasn't going to speak until he did. Finally Hiccup managed to concede, breathing out a sigh as he spoke. 

"I just...we have no way to know if they're actually safe. What if Grimmel survived, what if he followed them to the Hidden World? What if they never even made it." 

"There's no way Grimmel would have survived the fall." Astrid reassured. "And I'm sure Toothless and the rest of the dragons are safe and happy where they are." 

"But what if-" 

"You can't think in hypotheticals, babe." 

She removed a hand from his hair to place it against his scruffy cheek and forced him to look into her eyes. 

"Toothless wouldn't want this for you. He wouldn't want you to make yourself sick with worry. You know that." 

The Chief lowered his eyes and stared down at the bed. Astrid was right and they both knew it, and it made Hiccup mentally kick himself for not telling her sooner. He pulled her hand from his cheek and placed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. 

"You're right, milady. You always are." 

"I know. Not let's go back to bed." 

(...) 

"I'm sorry, you're _what_?" 

Hiccup paused briefly in his writing as his wife had burst into his study, resuming the movements of his charcoal as he heard the familiar voice. She was mad at him. That much was obvious. But he needed to finish this paperwork, so he continued to write as he spoke calmly, not turning to face Astrid just yet. 

"Afternoon to you too, milady." 

He heard Astrid's exasperated groan and saw her hand slam down on the papers in front of him. He hesitated to lift his head, and when he did, he got as he expected, seeing blue eyes glaring at him with an icy rage. 

"You're leaving? When was I going to find out about this?" 

Oh, Hiccup was so dead. He gently put the charcoal down and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"I see Snotlout can't keep a secret..." he grumbled to himself. Then, to his wife: "The council decided-" 

"Oh, I don't give a Yak's ass about what the council says!" she seethed. She was boiling over with anger now and it terrified her husband. He was thankful she didn't have her axe on her. 

"Someone has to check on the dragons, Astrid. I can't just sit here not knowing if they're safe." 

"And that someone has to be you?" 

"You and I are the only ones who have been to the Hidden World. I have to be the one to go." 

"Then why wasn't I included in this plan?" 

"I need you here to run the village." Gods, he was starting to sound like his father. "You'll do a better job than I ever have." 

Astrid did not appreciate the self-deprecating statement and crossed her arms over her chest, standing right in front of Hiccup now, who had moved his chair to face her. 

"You can't just drop everything and leave to go dragon-hunting, Hiccup." 

"It's only for three months-" 

"Three months!" 

That seemed to annoy the Chieftess the most, her hands coming up to gesticulate in front of her as she cursed and called her husband a number of colorful names. Hiccup withered underneath her anger, bringing his hands out to appease her. 

"I've been gone for that long before," he reasoned. "It's not a big deal-" 

"Not a big deal? Not a big deal? You need to be here, Hiccup! The village needs you, I, your _wife_ ,need you!" 

She was shouting louder now, and it cause Hiccup to raise his voice in turn, standing from his chair. 

"I don't understand why you're so upset about this, you've never needed me before! I've done this a hundred times! Why is it suddenly not okay for me to leave?" 

"Because I'm pregnant!" 

Silence hung in the air after that, both vikings staring in each other as the last sentence rang in their ears. Astrid's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with her hands, looking to her husband for his reaction. This was not how she planned on telling him the news. But in the heat of the moment, she had blurted it out, and now it was out in the open. Hiccup seemed to have lost his voice again, angered expression instantly melting away to something softer. 

"I-you're-you're pregnant?" 

Astrid took her hands from her mouth and stood up straighter, steeling herself. 

"Yes." 

"We're having a baby?" 

"Yes, Hiccup." 

I'm going to be a dad?" 

A small smile played at Astrid's lips as she rolled her eyes. 

"Well it's definitely not Snotlout's." 

Hiccup was still frozen in time, and Astrid took the opportunity to gently push him back into his chair and knelt down in front of him. She rested her hands on her husband's knees and looked up at him with a pleading expression. He managed to shake himself off a little and brought a hand to his wife's cheek. 

"I know the dragons are important to you. But your family- _our_ family-needs to come first." 

The Chief managed a small nod and blinked away the tears that were brimming at his eyes. 

"I'll send Snotlout and Fishlegs with the map." 

Astrid allowed herself to be pulled into her husband's lap, one of his arms around her back while the other rested a hand gently on the small swell of her belly. 

"We're having a baby." he whispered. 

Astrid rested her head against his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his jaw. 

"We are. That poor kid's going to be so stubborn." 

Hiccup let out a light laugh and held his wife closer. All thoughts of dragons and hidden worlds slipped from his mind, and all he could focus on was the little family he had to himself. Toothless would always be his best friend and dragon riding would always be his first love. But now there was a new love in his life, and it made him feel like he was flying again. Finding the Hidden World could wait. Right now, this kind of flying was good enough.


End file.
